10 Meters – On Hiatus

Our HF Net is on 28.305 MHz at 7PM local time on Wednesday evenings. It is run by station KC9JIK as net control operator. This net is general rag chew and fellowship among radio amateurs, and is activated along with the 6 meter net during a large scale disaster, or in the event the 2 meter repeater goes down.

The nets are operated in a manner than encourages participation and fellowship, and are open to all amateurs. We sometimes have stations as far away as California check in to the HF net. The net control stations maintain a log of active operators that can be called into action in the event that long-distance traffic relays are required that is beyond the range of the 2m FM repeater.

Repeater operation is called duplex, or two-frequency communications with input/output frequencies. The frequency separation between the input and output frequencies of a repeater is called the offset. The 6 and 10m nets are single sideband (SSB), both operated on upper sideband (USB). SSB is considerably more efficient than FM repeaters, requiring only 3 kHz of bandwidth on a single frequency called simplex operation. And SSB does not transmit a carrier. Since a SSB signal is not as “wide” it propagates much further on less power than FM. Stations from across the US and Canada, and even foreign countries, can be contacted on 6 and 10 meters running as little as 5 watts of Effective Radiated Power. Signal propagation beyond direct-wave range varies on the sideband nets, depending on solar conditions, the ionosphere, tropospheric ducting and other factors.

Participation from stations outside the direct-wave range of net control is encouraged to provide operators an opportunity to practice relaying traffic. Technician class operators are highly encouraged to participate in the 6 and 10m nets. Technicians have full privileges on 6 meters and SSB phone (voice) on 10 meters from 28.300 – 28.500 MHz. We have found that new Technician class operators typically do not utilize the fantastic opportunities that are available to your license class on these bands. In the Barron County Amateur Radio Assn you do. You not only get a chance to operate and become familiar with more complicated sideband radio gear, you may get a chance to make your very first DX contact!

An amateur radio net, or simply ham net, is an “on-the-air” gathering of amateur radio operators. Most nets convene on a regular schedule and specific frequency, and are organized for a particular purpose, such as relaying messages, discussing a common topic of interest, in severe weather (for example, during a Skywarn activation), emergencies, or simply as a regular gathering of friends for conversation.